David Bowie | Space Oddity | The Man Who Sold the World | Hunky Dory
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars | Aladdin Sane | Pin Ups | Diamond Dogs | Young Americans
Station to Station | Low | "Heroes" | Lodger | Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) | Let's Dance | Tonight | Never Let Me Down
Tin Machine | Black Tie White Noise | The Buddha of Suburbia | Outside | Earthling | 'hours...' | The Next Day | ★
Changesonebowie
- Broken Base: While fans generally regard the remix as a noticeable improvement over the original, a split exists regarding just how much of an improvement it really is. Some regard it as doing enough to turn what was previously Bowie's worst-regarded album into a new masterpiece, while others feel that even though it's better than the '87 mix, it doesn't lift it to the same heights as Bowie's better-regarded material.
- Critical Backlash: After critical opinions became more kind towards pop music, new listeners to the 1987 version of Never Let Me Down have frequently noted that while the album is indeed fairly run-of-the-mill compared to Bowie's usual foray, it's nowhere near as unlistenable as critical and fan consensus has made it out to be. What keeps this from being a case of Vindicated by History is the fact that the majority of people still agree that the 1987 version of Never Let Me Down was not a good David Bowie album, thanks to the unsympathetic production detracting from the songwriting's quality.
- Critical Dissonance: The 2018 remix was widely considered a major improvement over the original version by critics, but fans tend to be more divided as to whether or not it's a new masterpiece or just decent.
- Hype Backlash: Throughout the months between the 2018 version's announcement and its actual release, it had been hyped up as if it would make David Bowie's worst-regarded album a masterpiece on par with Ziggy Stardust or "Heroes". Come the actual release, and fans are heavily split on just how improved each song actually is. Fortunately, it's not at a point where people are outright disavowing the album, with most people agreeing that it's a substantial improvement upon the original, but it is treated much less enthusiastically than it was back in July of 2018.
- Improved by the Re-Cut: The original 1987 release is almost unanimously considered Bowie's worst album, but general understanding is that its faults lie mainly in its cluttered production rather than its songwriting. The 2018 remix, Never Let Me Down 2018, replaces the abundance of synths and effects with newly-recorded, more rock-oriented backing tracks, and was largely praised as an improvement upon the original, better showcasing the strength of the songwriting.
- Narm Charm: The minority of supporters for the 1987 version cite its over-the-top nature as being the main reason for their enjoyment of it, stating that the bombast and cheesiness provide a kind of fun that the 2018 version lacks. Also crosses over a bit with So Bad, It Was Better.
- Just Here for Godzilla: The 2018 version was considered an incentive to buy to the Boxed Set it was included in; because it was made exclusive to that set, with no plans for an individual CD and LP release, a good amount of fans who purchased Loving the Alien (1983-1988) stated that they did so primarily to get their hands on Never Let Me Down 2018. It's also reached a point where secondhand resales of the individual album on eBay can go through in just a matter of days compared to the other albums in the set.
- Surprisingly Improved Sequel: Despite the constant drubbing it gets from fans and critics, Never Let Me Down is actually considered a significant improvement over Tonight (mainly due to Bowie actually taking the time to plan the songs out instead of forcing out a quick n' dirty cash grab), albeit horrifically marred by an overly bombastic production. Additionally, with the exception of "Day-In Day-Out", all of its singles were considered surprisingly good, with "Time Will Crawl" being seen even by Bowie himself as one of his best songs. It's rather telling that when the 2018 remix was announced, fans immediately shot down the idea of a similar treatment for Tonight, claiming that, unlike NLMD, it was beyond repair.
